Buckle Support Assembly and Manufacturing Method and System

ABSTRACT

A support assembly is disclosed generally including a buckle component or components and a positioning member of flexible material that is arranged and configured to support the buckle component in a predetermined elevated position or predetermined positions for multiple components while also allowing for resilient shifting thereof. In the preferred form, the flexible material is belt webbing that has a plurality of fold portions folded and sewn together in a specific manner. Sew patterns are disclosed as well as methods and fixtures for forming the belt webbing positioning member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a U.S. continuation patent application of prior PCT ApplicationNo. PCT/US2006/001174, filed Jan. 12, 2006, which claims priority toU.S. Provisional Application Nos. 60/643,455, filed Jan. 13, 2005, and60/680,110, filed May 12, 2005. All of these prior applications arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an assembly including and supporting a bucklecomponent to be latched to another buckle component of a seat beltsystem, and to a method and system for manufacturing the bucklecomponent support assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For supporting buckles adjacent a vehicle seat or projecting frombetween the seat cushion and seat back, various support assemblies havebeen proposed. In the side mounted buckles, webbing stalks of steelstrap material have been employed that are effective in supporting andkeeping the buckle in a predetermined position for ease of latching witha tongue plate on a seat belt such as in a common three-point seat beltsystem. In other words, because of the high strength and stiffness ofthe steel strap, the buckle is substantially rigidly held in position inthe area between the seat cushion and seat back or, more typically suchas with front bucket seats, adjacent the seat such that a passenger neednot hold the buckle housing while inserting the tongue plate therein forbuckling or latching operations to occur. However, the downside of sucha rigid mounting of the buckle is that should a passenger accidentallystart to sit in the area of the buckle, they will feel a veryuncomfortable and possibly painful hard, projecting part of the seatbelt system. Because there is very little give in the steel bucklepositioning strap, the passenger will likely have to get back up forcompletely repositioning themselves on the vehicle seat.

The use of seat belt webbing material for the buckle supporting stalk isalso known. However, the belt webbing buckle anchoring assemblies aremore commonly used to extend between the seat backs and seat cushions ofvehicle seats such as in a rear bench seating arrangement of a vehicle.In this instance, the webbing does not really support the buckle asinstead its weight rests on the seat cushion. Such buckle mountingstraps are advantageous in that they do not present a rigid and hardobstacle to a passenger attempting to position themselves for sitting ona vehicle seat due to the flexible nature of the seat belt webbingmaterial. On the other hand, belt webbing buckle positioning memberstypically require that the passenger hold the buckle to orient the slotopening thereof in an upwardly facing direction for sliding receipt ofthe tongue plate therein. Thus, these flexible webbing positioningmembers will generally require a two-handed buckling operation. Further,these webbing buckle mounts generally are not sufficiently stiff for useas a self-supporting buckle stalk to properly position the bucklealongside the seat cushion without incorporating an additionalreinforcement member to the assembly.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,231 to Takada is directed to a seat belt bucklestalk that employs a seat belt webbing and recognizes the above-notedproblem with such seat belt webbing stalks. To solve this problem, the'231 patent teaches folding belt webbing and then placing it in a mold.Plastic is injected into the mold to fill in the gaps between the foldedwebbing portions to provide it with the stiffness needed to beself-supporting with a buckle attached to the end opposite the anchor.Utilizing a molded plastic material between folded seat belt webbingportions, while generally providing a slight cushioning around the hardplastic material between these folded portions, still creates a rigidityproblem. And while possibly more flexible than a steel strap basedstalk, the webbing and molded plastic stalk of the '231 patent stillwill present a relatively rigid mounting of the buckle. Again, whilethis is beneficial for the buckle latching operation, the rigid stalkcreates an impediment for comfortable seating of passengers on thevehicle seats. Further, the manufacture of the '231 patent stalk isrelatively complex in requiring a special mold and plastic injectionmolding operations undesirably increasing costs associated therewith.

Accordingly, there is a need for a positioning member for a bucklecomponent that provides for an optimal combination of stiffness to allowthe buckle to stay in a predetermined position and of allowing forshifting of the buckle component upon application of bending forcesthereto. More specifically, a buckle component positioning member isdesired that allows for one handed buckling operations to occur but doesnot create a significant impediment to passengers when attempting topositioning themselves for seating on a vehicle seat with which thebuckle component is associated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a bucklecomponent support assembly is provided that includes a buckle componentand a positioning member that substantially supports the component in apredetermined elevated position for latching with another bucklecomponent. The support assembly further includes a flexible material ofthe positioning member that is arranged and configured to provide thepositioning member with a predetermined stiffness that substantiallymaintains the buckle in the predetermined elevated position duringlatching. In this manner, the positioning member allows for one handedlatching operations to occur as the vehicle passenger does not have togrip and then position or orient the buckle component for latching withthe other buckle component. Further, the arrangement and configurationof the positioning member flexible material is such that the positioningmember is provided with a predetermined amount of resilient shifting byapplication of a relatively low bending force thereto. In this manner, avehicle passenger is able to seat themselves on the vehicle seat withoutfear that a substantially rigidly held and hard seat belt bucklecomponent will get in the way such as occurs with steel strap stalks, aspreviously discussed. Accordingly, the present positioning member has apredetermined stiffness that provides an optimum balance between thesupport strength the positioning member provides for keeping the bucklecomponent supported in a predetermined elevated position and bendresistance to allow for the buckle component to readily shift such aswhen a relatively low, transverse bending force is applied to thepositioning member, which can occur when a passenger inadvertentlyengages the buckle component and/or positioning member as they aremoving to sit on the vehicle seat.

In a preferred form, the predetermined flexible material is the solebuckle component supporting material of the positioning member. Evenmore preferably, the material is belt webbing material that includesfold portions arranged and attached so that the positioning member isself supporting and allows for the resilient shifting of the bucklecomponent.

In an alternative form, a cover or sleeve may be provided to extendabout the positioning member for aesthetic purposes. Optionally, thesleeve may serve as a retainer to keep the buckle component properlyoriented for a tongue latching operation with the flexible material ofthe positioning member still providing the primary support for thebuckle component that keeps it at its elevated position.

In one form, a standard width belt webbing is folded along at least onelongitudinal fold line to form an initial double-thickness, half-width,belt webbing length. Three fold portions are then formed by folding theinitial half width belt webbing length over a pair of longitudinallyspaced and transversely extending fold lines. This allows the three-foldportions to be attached to provide the positioning member with athickness six times that of the belt webbing material.

In another aspect, it has been found that the sew pattern employed is ofsignificance in terms of being able to form the positioning member withthe necessary tensile strength while keeping the frequency of needlebreakage relative to the number of positioning members sewn therewith toa minimum. In a preferred form where the flexible material of thepositioning member is belt webbing material that is folded and attachedto have a thickness at least three times the thickness of the beltwebbing material, a predetermined sew pattern is provided that minimizesthe number of stitches needed to sew the folded belt webbing materialtogether for forming the positioning member while still providing thepositioning member with a predetermined high tensile strength, forexample, comparable to that provided by steel strap buckle stalks.

In order to optimize the stiffness in terms of the amount of resilientshifting allowed by the positioning member, it has been found that it ispreferred to have the positioning member stiffness provide for the lowbend force to be in the range of approximately 1 N to less thanapproximately 10 N to resiliently shift the positioning member betweenapproximately 10 mm to approximately 30 mm from the predeterminedelevated position. In another form, the predetermined stiffness providesfor the low bending force to progressively increase as the bucklecomponent shifts progressively further away from the predeterminedelevated position. Accordingly, the stiffness is akin to that of steelstrap stalks in terms of the tensile strength component thereof herein,whereas the stiffness in terms of the bend resistance as measured by thebend force for the positioning member is generally one order ofmagnitude lower than those required for bending comparable steel stalks.

Other aspects of the invention include a folding and sewing system forforming a buckle component positioning member of flexible material, anda method for forming such a positioning member. In particular, thefolding and sewing system includes a pair of folding fixtures forfolding the flexible material of the positioning member, and a clampingfixture for holding the folded material during sewing thereof.

The method includes folding the flexible material along at least onelongitudinal fold line and sewing the folded material together forforming an initial, double-thickness, half-width stock of foldedmaterial. The method further includes transversely folding the initialstock of folded material over a lateral fold line and sewing thefolded-over stock of folded material together to form the positioningmember with a shortened length and increased thickness over that of theinitial stock of folded material. Preferably, the initial stock oftransversely folded material is transversely folded again over a secondlateral fold line that is longitudinally spaced from the first lateralfold line to extend over and along the transversely folded material andbe sewn thereto to form the positioning member.

In a preferred form, the sewing of the transversely folded materialincludes sewing at least a criss-cross pattern therethrough. Even morepreferably, the sewing of at least the criss-cross pattern includessewing both the criss-cross pattern and a box pattern to extendsubstantially continuously along a majority of the length of thepositioning member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of driver and passenger seats showing abuckle support assembly adjacent to each of the seats;

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a rear bench seat including bucklesupport assemblies that support respective buckles in an elevatedposition relative to an adjacent seat cushion;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the buckle support assembly showing aflexible, belt webbing positioning member extending between the buckleand a lower anchor plate;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the buckle support assembly showing asleeve member fixed to the belt webbing positioning member, and a switchassembly for sensing latching of a tongue plate in the buckle;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the buckle support assembly without the sleevemember;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the buckle support assemblyincluding the sleeve member;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 6-6 of FIG. 2 showingmultiple layers of belt webbing material forming the positioning member;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another buckle support assembly similarto the buckle support assemblies of FIGS. 1-6 but not including a switchassembly;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the buckle support assembly of FIG.7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a buckle support assembly showing a stitchpattern for securing the multiple layers of belt webbing material of thepositioning member together;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the positioning member of FIG. 9 showingthe combination box and butterfly stitch pattern;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged elevational view similar to FIG. 10 showing analternative stitch pattern including a plurality of butterfly stitchgroups spaced along the length of the positioning member;

FIG. 12 is perspective view of a fixture for folding belt webbingmaterial so that the lengthwise edges are folded toward each other;

FIG. 13A is a fragmentary plan view taken along line 13A-13A of FIG. 12showing the belt webbing material after being folded via the fixtureFIG. 12;

FIG. 13B is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 13A showing the foldedwebbing material stitched together;

FIGS. 14-18 show a stock member of double-thickness, half-width webbingmaterial of FIG. 13B folded, connected to the anchor plate, and stitchedto form the positioning member having a double-thickness, tri-foldconfiguration;

FIG. 19 is a plan view of another buckle support assembly having aflexible, belt webbing positioning member extending between the buckleand anchor plate;

FIG. 20 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevation view of the buckle supportassembly of FIG. 19 showing a tri-fold configuration of the positioningmember adjacent the buckle;

FIG. 21 is an elevational view of the buckle support assembly of FIG. 19showing a bi-fold configuration of the positioning member extending fromthe tri-fold portion to the anchor plate;

FIGS. 22 and 23 are perspective views of the fixture used for formingthe positioning member of FIGS. 19-21;

FIG. 24 is a perspective view of the combination bi-fold and tri-foldpositioning member connected to the anchor plate generated by thefolding operations illustrated in FIGS. 22 and 23;

FIGS. 25 and 26 illustrate a testing rig utilized for testing thestrength of the buckle support assemblies;

FIG. 27 shows the tensile strength test results for a steel strapmounted buckle, and the tri-fold positioning members with the twodifferent stitch patterns, and the combination bi-fold and tri-foldpositioning member;

FIG. 28 is a elevational view of a test rig for testing the bendresistance of the positioning members;

FIG. 29 shows the results of various flexibility tests using the testrig of FIG. 28 for the belt webbing positioning members;

FIG. 30 shows the flexibility test results for a steel strap positioningmember;

FIGS. 31 and 32 show the flexibility test results plotted on graphs forcomparison purposes;

FIG. 33 is a perspective view of a dual buckle support assemblysupporting a pair of buckles in an elevated position between a pair ofadjacent seats;

FIG. 34 is a plan view of the positioning member extending between thebuckles and the anchor plate;

FIG. 35 is a perspective view of the dual buckle support assemblyshowing the pair of buckles each having a bi-fold portion of thepositioning member connected thereto which meet at a lower bi-foldportion connected to the anchor plate;

FIGS. 36-38 are additional views of the dual buckle support assembly;and

FIGS. 39-44 show the manufacturing operation for assembly of the dualbuckle support assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a pair of buckle support assemblies 10 positioned oneither side of a center console 12 between driver and passenger seats 14and 16, respectively. As can be seen, the support assembly 10 positionsa buckle component such as buckle 18 at a elevated position extendingupwardly in a direction away from the floor of the vehicle. The supportassembly 10 also includes a lower anchor plate 20 as shown in FIG. 2 forbeing attached to a lower portion of the frame of the seats 14 and 16.Alternatively, the anchor 20 can be adapted to mount to the vehicleframe or vehicle floor. In the preferred and illustrated form, thebuckle support assembly 10 positions the buckle 18 so that its elevatedposition is slightly higher than the seat cushion 22 of each of theseats 14 and 16. In this manner, the buckle support assembly 10positions the buckle 18 at a convenient, easy-to-reach location forlatching with the cooperating buckle component, i.e., tongue plate 24,of a seat belt system, such as the three-point seat belt system 26,shown in FIG. 1A. Manifestly, the tongue plate 24 could be part of thesupport assembly 10 to be supported thereby instead of the buckle 18.

The three-point belt system 26 is shown for use with the outer seats 28of a rear bench seat arrangement 30, although it is apparent a similarthree-point system 26 could be employed with the driver and passengerseats 14 and 16. In the rear bench seat 30, the buckle supportassemblies 10 can also be utilized extending between the seat cushion 32and seat back 34, and adjacent the center seat 36. In this instance, thesupport assemblies 10 are also operable to substantially keep thebuckles 18 in an elevated position slightly raised over thecorresponding seat cushion 32 rather than resting thereon.

More particularly, the present buckle support assembly 10 has an optimumcombination of buckle support strength for keeping the buckle 18 in asubstantially predetermined position that allows for easy latching ofthe tongue plate 24 therein and resilient shifting such as for occurringwhen a passenger inadvertently contacts the support assembly 10including buckle 18 or positioning member 38 thereof. For this purpose,the positioning member 38 preferably is exclusively formed of a flexiblematerial such as a fabric belt webbing material 40. As can be seen inFIG. 6, the belt webbing material 40 is folded so that the positioningmember 38 has multiple layers of the webbing material 40 attachedtogether as by sewing. This provides the positioning member 38 with thestiffness characteristics previously described. In the preferred form,the positioning member 38 is formed of six layers 40 a-40 f of beltwebbing material so that the thickness of the positioning member 38 issix times that of a single layer of the belt webbing material 40. It hasbeen found that belt webbing material provided by the assignee herein isparticularly useful for forming the present positioning member 38,particularly where the layers 40 a-40 f are sewn together, as will bedescribed in more detail hereinafter.

The preferred positioning member 38 of FIG. 6 avoids the need forseparate reinforcing material to provide the desired level of stiffness.Folding the six layers 40 a-40 f of belt webbing material 40 togetherprovides the positioning member 40 with sufficient strength andstiffness to be self supporting including the weight of the buckle 18 atone end thereof, as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 1A. At the same time, thestiffness and strength, particularly the tensile strength along thelongitudinal direction of the elongate buckle positioning member 38 isnot so great as to keep from allowing a relatively low transversebending force applied to the buckle support assembly 10 to causeshifting of the buckle 18 or positioning member 38. In this fashion, thepositioning member 38 is both operable to keep the buckle 18substantially in its predetermined elevated position during bucklingoperations and to allow inadvertent contact with the support assembly 10such as when a passenger is attempting to seat themselves to cause theshifting or deflection of the support assembly 10.

Thus, the present positioning member 38 allows a passenger to perform aone-handed latching operation by simply using one hand to grab thetongue plate 24 while inserting it in the elevated buckle 18 forlatching therewith out the need to use their other hand to orient andposition the buckle 18 for sliding receipt of the tongue plate 24therein. Nevertheless, when a person is sitting down and happens toaccidentally sit in the area of the support assembly 10, they will notimpact against a hard and rigidly held object such as with prior steelstrap, buckle supporting stalks. Instead, the multi-layered positioningmember 38 allows for a predetermined amount of resilient shifting of thesupport assembly 10 upon application of a bending force to the supportassembly 10 that is generally transverse to the length of thepositioning member 38. Accordingly, with the present positioning member38, the passenger will not experience significant discomfort and/or painif they accidentally hit the support assembly 10 such as when they areorienting themselves for sitting on the vehicle seats 14, 16 and 28. Infact, the tensile strength of the positioning member 38 is comparable tothat provided by steel strap stalks (FIG. 27), while still allowing formuch lower bending forces to shift the support assembly 10 versus thoserequired for shifting the steel strap stalk (FIGS. 29 and 30).

FIGS. 2-5 and FIGS. 7 and 8 show examples of two different supportassemblies 10, one with electronics that transmits a latched orunlatched signal to a dash board light (FIGS. 2-5), and the otherwithout such electronics (FIGS. 7 and 8). In both instances, the supportassemblies 10 utilize the same positioning member 38. It is anticipatedthat the electronically-enabled support assembly of FIGS. 2-5 could beused with the driver seat 14 while the other support assembly 10 ofFIGS. 7 and 8 could be used with the passenger seat 16. Alternatively,these support assemblies 10 could be reversed in terms of which seatthey are used with, or the electronically-enabled, support assembly 10could be used with both seats 14 and 16 and likewise thenon-electronically enabled, support assembly 10 could be used with bothseats 14 and 16.

The positioning member 38 generally will have a length greater than itswidth with the length extending between opposite ends 42 and 44 of thepositioning member 38. Referring to FIG. 4, the buckle 18 is attached tothe positioning member 38 at the upper end 42 thereof while the anchorplate 20 is attached to the positioning member 38 at the lower end 44thereof. FIG. 3 illustrates the switch assembly 46 as incorporated withthe buckle support assembly 10 of FIGS. 2-5. The buckle 18 includes acover member 48 and a base member 50 that are attached together to formhousing 52 for buckle operating subassembly 54. As is known, the bucklehousing 52 defines a slot opening 56 with the tongue plate 24 configuredfor being slidingly inserted therein. Once the tongue plate 24 has slida sufficient distance in the buckle 18, it will be latched in thehousing 52 via the operating mechanism 54. To release the tongue plate24 from the buckle 18, push button actuator 58 of the mechanism 54 isdepressed releasing the latching connection between the tongue plate 24and the operating mechanism 54 and allowing the passenger to pull thetongue plate 24 out from the buckle 18.

The switch assembly 46 includes a switch device 58 that is disposed inthe buckle housing 52 and adapted to sense whether the tongue plate 24is latched by the operating mechanism 54. Lead wires run through asheath or tube 62 out from the rear of the buckle housing 52 to aterminal 64 that is connected to a connector clip 66 which, in turn, isconnected to electrical connector 68. The connector 68 fits into a wireharness disposed behind the seat 14 which is electrically connected tothe dash board light for indicating whether the driver seat buckle 18 isin its unlatched or latched condition with the tongue plate 24.

In all other respects, the construction of the electronically-enabled,support assembly 10 of FIGS. 2-5 and the other support assembly 10 ofFIGS. 7 and 8 is substantially the same. Accordingly, there is aprotective sleeve member 70 into which the rear of the buckle housing 52is tightly received. The sleeve member 70 is optional for aestheticpurposes, and can also serve to retain the buckle 18 against pivotingrelative to the positioning member 38 so that the slot opening 56 staysin a generally upward facing orientation for ease of inserting thetongue plate 24 therein. A staple 72 secures the sleeve member 70against sliding relative to the positioning member 38 as it is driventhrough a thin, lip extension portion 74 of the sleeve member 70 thatprojects downwardly along the positioning member 38, and then into thebelt webbing material 40 of the positioning member 38. The anchor plate20 has an upper slot opening 76 for attaching to the positioning memberend 44, as will be described hereinafter. A lower annular opening 78 isalso formed in the anchor plate 20 for receipt of a bushing 80 therein.The lower anchor opening 78 and bushing 80 allow the anchor plate 20 tobe fastened to a lower portion of the seat frame via an anchor bolt withthe bushing 80 acting as a noise dampener between the bolt and anchorplate 20.

Turning next to a description of the formation of the preferredpositioning member 38 including the six layers 40 a-40 f of belt webbingmaterial 40, reference will be had to FIGS. 12-18. As previouslymentioned, body 82 of the positioning member 38 is preferably composedof several layers 40 a-40 f of belt webbing material 40 formed from astandard size of belt webbing 83, such as the belt webbing provided bythe assignee herein. By way of example and not limitation, the beltwebbing can have a thickness of approximately 9 mm to approximately 14mm, and a width of approximately 22 mm to approximately 28 mm extendingbetween opposite side edges 84 and 86 thereof. This standard size beltwebbing 83 is taken through folding stations 80 a and 90 and sewingstation 92 for forming the multilayered body 82 of the positioningmember 38.

Referring specifically to FIG. 12, the belt webbing 83 is initially runthrough fixture 94 for reducing the width of the webbing 83. Moreparticularly, the fixture is in the form of a shoe member 96 havingenlarged mouth opening 98 at its infeed end. The shoe member 96 tapersfrom the mouth opening 98 to a smaller exit opening 100 at its oppositeend via contoured side walls 102 and 104. The contour of the side walls102 and 104 is such that as the webbing 83 is drawn through the shoemember 96 in travel direction 105 along the length of the webbing,either automatically or manually, the edges 84 and 86 are folded overand toward one another. With the edges 84 and 86 folded so that they arein closely spaced or abutting relation as shown in FIG. 13A, the foldedwebbing 83 is then stitched as shown in FIG. 13B.

Accordingly, after the webbing 83 has been folded at the folding station88 and sewn at a sewing station (not shown), the folded webbing 83 willhave a width dimension between folded side edges 106 and 108 that isapproximately half that of the unfolded belt webbing 83 between edges 84and 86 thereof. In addition, the folded webbing portions 110 and 112including the respective webbing edges 84 and 86 are approximatelyone-quarter the width of the unfolded belt webbing 83 as folded aboutlongitudinal fold lines 107 and 109 corresponding to the respectivefolded side edges 106 and 108. The quarter-width, webbing portions 110and 112 are folded back onto a half-width, central portion 114 of thewebbing 83 so that there is now a double-thickness of webbing material40 once the webbing portions 110 and 112 are sewn to the central webbingportion 114. Referring to FIG. 13B, it can be seen that stitches 116extend in the longitudinal direction 118 of the webbing 83 with thestitches 116 oriented in rows 120 and 122 adjacent and substantiallyparallel to respective edges 84 and 86. Accordingly, the stitch row 120attaches the quarter-width belt webbing fold portion 110 to thehalf-width, central webbing portion 114, and the stitch row 122 attachesthe quarter-width, folded webbing portion 112 to the central webbingportion 114. In this manner, the webbing 83 is transformed to adouble-thickness, half-width run of webbing that is utilized to form themulti-layered, positioning member body 82.

It should be noted that since the stitches 116 only attach two layers ofthe belt webbing material 40 together, standard belt webbing sewingequipment (not shown) can be utilized. Further, while the webbing 83 ispreferably folded along the two fold lines 107 and 108 to avoid exposingthe webbing edges 84 and 86 along the side of the double-thickness,half-width piece formed at folding station 88, it should be apparentthat the webbing 83 could be folded instead along a single, central,longitudinal fold line to form the double-thickness, half-width piece ofbelt webbing.

After folding and stitching as described above, the sewn and folded beltwebbing 83 is cut to specific lengths at a cutting station (not shown)for the final folding and stitching operations for forming thepositioning member 38. Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the cut-to-lengthfolded webbing material provides an initial webbing stock piece ormember 125 of a predetermined length of double-thickness, half-widthwebbing material 40 that is again folded at folding station 126. Thefolding station 126 includes a fixture 128 having a base 130 with ananchor holding block 132 and a folding post 134 at either end thereof.The block 132 has a narrow slot 136 that extends centrally andvertically through the block member 132 and is open to the top thereof.The narrow slot 136 has a width close to that of the thickness of theanchor plate 20 such that the anchor plate can be slid from the top ofthe block 132 into the slot 136 and be received with a snug fit therein.

As mentioned, the stock 124 is cut to a predetermined length to form astock member 125 that extends between opposite ends 138 and 140 thereof.With the anchor plate 20 substantially rigidly held in the fixture block132, the stock end 138 is laced through the anchor plate slot opening 76and pulled therethrough until stock end 140 is disposed at a desireddistance from the fixture post 134. More particularly, the stock end 140is pivoted around the post 134 so that stock portion 142 extends closelyadjacent to stock portion 144 that is drawn to extend tautly between theanchor plate 20 and the post 134. The stock portion 146 including end138 is drawn through the anchor plate slot 76 and pivoted around theplate back toward the stock portions 142 and 144. The length of thestock portion 146 is dictated by how far the stock member 125 is drawnthrough the anchor slot 76. Generally, it is desired for the length ofthe stock portion 146 to be approximately the same as that of stockportion 144 so as to extend between the slot opening 76 in the anchorplate 20 and the fixture post 134, as shown in FIG. 15. This positionsthe stock end 140 at a predetermined distance, e.g. in the range ofapproximately 2 mm to approximately 5 mm, from the adjacent end 20 a ofthe anchor plate 20.

After the end 138 is pivoted into engagement with the stock portion 144,the transversely folded stock member 125 is removed from the fixture 128by lifting the anchor plate 20 out of the retaining slot 136 of fixtureblock 132 and the folded stock portions 142 and 144 off of the fixturepost 134. The folded stock member 125 has the shorter length, innerstock portion 142 extending between the longer length, outer stockportions 144 and 146 so that there are three layers of thedouble-thickness, half-width stock 124 of belt webbing material 40.Accordingly, it can be seen that the stock member 125 is transverselyfolded along two lateral fold lines 148 and 150 extending widthwisealong the stock member 125 between the folded, side edges 106 and 108thereof and spaced lengthwise from each other along the length of thestock member 125 in the longitudinal direction 118. The lengthwise orlongitudinal spacing of the fold lines 148 and 150 defines the length ofthe positioning member 38 which substantially coincides with thedistance between the anchor plate slot 76 and the distal surface portionof the fixture post 134 about which the stock member 125 extends.

With the positioning member 38 formed as described above, the foldedstock member 125 provides the positioning member body 82 with a doublethickness, trifold configuration in that there are three fold portions142-146 of the stock member 125 each being formed from the initial,double thickness, half width length of folded stock 124, as previouslydescribed. In other words, each of the folded stock portions 142-146includes the folded webbing portions 110 and 112 and the central webbingportion 114 so that the double-thickness, trifold configuration of thepositioning member body 82 provides it with the six layers 40 a-40 f ofbelt webbing material 40, as shown in FIG. 6.

Because of the number of tough fabric layers that the positioning member38 is formed with as described above, it has been found that theparticular sewing process and pattern is of significance. In particular,the preferred stitch patterns minimize the number of discrete stitchesthat are necessary to hold the stock portions 142-146 together whilestill providing for the high tensile strength that is desired for thepositioning member 38. In addition, the preferred stitch patterns alsoassist in providing the positioning member 38 with the desired level ofbend resistance so that the buckle 18 is held substantially stationeryduring buckling operations while permitting it to readily shift whenaccidentally engaged by a passenger, as has previously been described.

To enable the positioning member to have the optimized stiffness asdescribed above, it is preferred that the webbing 83 be obtained fromapplicant's assignee herein, as previously mentioned. The fabric webbing83 has its grain 152 running substantially longitudinally along thepositioning member 38 in the direction of its longitudinal axis 38 a, asseen best in FIGS. 9-11. Accordingly, it is the construction of thewebbing 83, the folding of the webbing 83 to form the positioning memberbody 82, and the sewing of the folded webbing body 82 with apredetermined sew pattern such as sew pattern 154 of FIGS. 9 and 10 andsew pattern 156 of FIG. 11 that together cooperate to provide thepositioning member 38 with the stiffness described herein.

As can be seen in FIGS. 9 and 10, the stitch pattern 154 extends for themajority of the length of the positioning member body between the anchorend 158 and the buckle end 160 at which the transverse folds 148 and150, respectively are formed. The sew pattern 154 is a combination boxand butterfly or crisscross pattern so that there are a plurality ofcrisscross or x-shaped stitch sections 162 each formed by a pair ofintersecting stitch rows 163 that are circumscribed by an elongated,rectangular box of stitches 164. With the combination box and butterflystitch pattern 154, the generally longitudinally directed stitchingminimizes the number of discrete stitches that are required while stillallowing the stitches to assist in providing the desired high level oftensile strength for the positioning member and also keeping the buckle18 securely supported in an elevated position for buckling operations.At the same time, the stitching is not so frequent that there is undueresistance to transverse bending of the positioning member 38, andparticularly the folded webbing body 82 thereof, and also minimizes theinstances of needle breakage per number of positioning members 38 formedtherewith. This is of particular concern where as here the preferredpositioning member body 82 is formed of six layers 40 a-40 f of tough,fabric webbing material 40. Other adaptations of the sewing equipmentbeyond the particular sew pattern employed are preferably included suchas via the provision of a robust, high strength sewing needle 66, asshown in FIGS. 17 and 18.

In the preferred and illustrated form, the stitch pattern 154 alsoincludes a larger outer, rectangular box of stitches 168 that extendsabout the inner box of stitches 164. Referring to FIG. 10, thebox-in-a-box stitch pattern provides for four stitch rows 170 extendingin the longitudinal direction along the positioning member 38. Theselong rows 170 provide the positioning member 38 with tensile strengthand resiliency with resistance to undue transverse bending. In addition,the box-in-a-box pattern has four relatively short rows 172 of stitchingextending laterally or in the widthwise direction generally orthogonalto the longitudinal axis 38 a of the positioning member 38.

More particularly, the inner stitch box 164 is formed from the innerpair of longitudinal stitch rows 170 b and 170 c which areinterconnected at their opposite ends by the lateral stitch rows 172 band 172 c. The outer stitch box 168 is formed from the outer,longitudinal stitch rows 170 a and 170 d interconnected by the lateralstitch row 172 a and, toward the anchor end 158 by two closely, spacedlateral stitch rows 172 d and 172 e. As can be seen, with the innerstitch box 164 generally centered in the outer stitch box 168, theinner, lateral stitch rows 172 b and 172 c are shorter than the outer,longer, lateral stitch rows 172 a, 172 d, and 172 e, which then extendlaterally beyond either end of the adjacent short, lateral stitch rows172 b and 172 c. Similarly, the inner, longitudinal stitch rows 170 band 170 c are shorter than the outer, longer, longitudinal stitch rows170 a and 170 d, which then extend longitudinally beyond either end ofthe adjacent shorter longitudinal stitch rows 170 b and 170 c. The twostitch rows 172 d and 172 e are provided to enable the stitch pattern154 including the inner X-sections 162 to be substantially, continuouslysewn without having to stop stitching to move the needle head 174 acrossthe surface of the positioning member 38 without stitching. The shorter,lateral stitch rows 172 also provide the positioning member with theresistance to bending or twisting about the longitudinal axis 38 a ofthe positioning member 38.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, it can be seen that preferably there aresix criss-cross stitch sections 162 bounded by the inner stitch box 164.These sections 162 have an X-shape that is elongated in the longitudinaldirection. In this manner, the stitches of the criss-cross sections 162extend more longitudinally than laterally as they run from one of thelongitudinal stitch rows 170 b and 170 c to the other. To this end, therows 163 of stitching that make up the interior criss-cross sections 162extend at an oblique angle of approximately 20° with respect to thelongitudinal stitch lines 170 b and 170 c and the positioning memberaxis 38 a. Thus, the stitch rows 163 extend for a greater extentlongitudinally than they do laterally across the width of thepositioning member 38. In this way, the stitch rows 163 that extendobliquely between the longitudinal stitch lines 170 b and 170 c provideadditional tensile strength to the positioning member 38 while keepingthe number of stitches in the pattern 154 to a minimum.

By way of example, with the preferred belt webbing sizes as has beenpreviously been described, the sew pattern 154 has a longitudinal stitchrows 170 a and 170 d that extend for a longitudinal distance betweenlateral stitch rows 172 a and 172 d for a distance of approximately 139mm, and the lateral stitch rows 172 a and 172 d extend for a distance ofapproximately 16 mm. With respect to the inner stitch box 164, thelongitudinal stitch rows 170 b and 170 c extend for a distanceapproximately 132 mm, and the lateral stitch rows 172 b and 172 c extendfor a lateral distance of approximately 8 mm. The criss-cross stitchsections 162 each extend for a longitudinal distance of approximately 22mm along positioning member axis 38 a. Accordingly, six such criss-crosssections 162 are provided in the inner stitch box 164.

FIG. 11 illustrates the alternative stitch pattern 156 utilizing aplurality of butterfly or criss-cross stitch groups 176 along the lengthof the positioning member 38. As can be seen, the criss-cross orX-shaped stitch sections 177 in each of the stitch groups 176 areelongated in the lateral or widthwise direction of the positioningmember 38. In this manner, the obliquely extending stitch rows 178extend for a greater extent laterally than they do longitudinally. Tominimize the number of discrete stitches in the stitch pattern 156, theX-shaped sections 177 are preferably disposed in three groups 176 withthe intermediate group 176 a spaced from the end groups 176 b and 176 cby gaps 180. Nevertheless, it can be seen that the stitch pattern 156 isless favored than the stitch pattern 154 as it has a greater number ofdiscrete stitches than that used for the combination box and butterflysew pattern 154.

Even so, it has been found that by utilizing the butterfly stitchsections 177 and spacing them in discrete groups 176, the number ofstitches utilized in the pattern 156 is significantly decreased overthat which would be required if only lateral stitch rows were utilized,for instance. In this case, the number of stitches needed if onlylateral stitch rows were to be employed in terms of providing thepositioning member with the desired level of stiffness for tensilestrength and bend resistance purposes would be so great that thefrequency of needle breakage would be unsatisfactory from amanufacturing standpoint. Accordingly, the preferred sew patterns 154and 156 employ butterfly or criss-cross stitch sections 162 or 177 tokeep the number of discrete stitches for the positioning member 38 to aminimum, with the combination box and butterfly sew pattern 154illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 preferred for this purpose.

Each of the criss-cross stitch groups 176 is completed at their oppositelongitudinal ends by a lateral row 182 of stitches so that within agroup 176 the stitching can occur continuously before the needle head174 stops stitching to move to the start point for the next stitch group176. By way of example, the stitch pattern 156 can include stitch groups176 that each extend longitudinally by approximately 36 mm along thelength of the positioning lateral member 38 between the opposite stitchrows 182 thereof with the stitch rows 182 extending the full width ofapproximately 18 mm of each of the aligned X-shaped stitch sections 177.The longitudinal distance between the adjacent, parallel stitch rows 178is approximately 4 mm. More generally, this longitudinal distancebetween stitch rows can be between approximately 2 mm to approximately 4mm. The number of discrete stitches in a criss-cross stitch section canvary from between two to eleven stitches. The length of each of thestitch rows 178 can vary from between approximately 3 mm toapproximately 22 mm.

A special sewing process has been developed to handle the manufacture ofthe double thickness, trifold positioning member 38. As previouslydescribed, there are folding stations 88 and 90 that are utilized tomake the folds in the belt webbing 83 prior to sewing of the stitchpatterns 154 or 156. Also, there is a sewing station (not shown)employed between the folding stations 88 and 90 for forming the initialdouble-thickness, half width webbing stock 124, as has been previouslydescribed. After folding station 90, the operator removes the doublethickness, trifold positioning member body 82 from the fixture with theanchor plate 20 attached thereto for being transferred to the sewingstation 92, as shown in FIGS. 16-18. The sewing station 92 includes aclamping fixture 184 that is operable to hold the folded stock portions142-146 tightly clamped together during the sewing procedure.

The clamping fixture 184 has a base member 186 including an elongaterecess 188 sized to receive the folded, positioning member body 82therein with the opposite folded ends 158 and 160 projecting out fromthe corresponding open ends of the recess, as can be seen in FIG. 17.The base 186 also has a central opening 190 formed in the recessed area188 and running for almost the entire length thereof. The opening 190can have a depth that can be slightly greater than the thickness of oneof the stock portions 142-146 whereas the depth of the recess 188 can beapproximately the same as the thickness of two of the stock portions142-146.

More particularly, the base member 186 has an upper surface 192, and arecessed surface 194 that extends to either side 196 and 198 of the basemember 186. The recessed distance between the upper surface 192 andrecessed surface 194 is approximately the same as that of the thicknessof the stock portions 142 and 144. The opening 190 is formed in therecess surface 194 and extends through to the bottom 200 of the basemember 186 spaced from the recessed surface 194 by a distancecorresponding to at least the thickness of the stock portion 146. Inaddition, it can be seen that the opening 190 does not extend all theway to either side 196 and 198 of the base member 186. All three stockportions 142-146 will be positioned on the base member and held so thatthe stock portion 144 is substantially flush with the base upper surface192. The positioning member body 82 has looped ends 158 and 160 wherethere are only two layers of the initial stock piece 125 as provided bythe transverse fold 148 between the stock portions 144 and 146 at theanchor end 158 and the transverse fold 150 between the stock portions142 and 144 at the buckle end 160. At these ends, the positioning memberbody 82 only has a double layer thickness of the stock 124 which isaccommodated by the sizing of the recess 188, as described above.

With the positioning member body 82 positioned on the base member 186 sothat the ends 158 and 160 project slightly beyond either side 196 and198 thereof, the clamping plate 202 of the fixture 184 is operable to beshifted downwardly toward the base member 186. The clamping plate 202has substantially the same outer, peripheral rectangular configurationas the base member 186 and is provided with an elongate window 204 thatis dimensioned to be approximately the same size as the perimeter of thecentral opening 190 in the base member 186. In addition, the size of thewindow 204 and opening 190 is such that the entire stitch pattern 154 or156 can be formed in the exposed portion of the positioning member body82 therein. Accordingly, when the clamping plate 202 is actuated as by asolenoid operator 206 or the like, the transverse or laterally extendingends 208 and 210 of the plate 202 are brought down into clampingengagement with the looped ends 158 and 160 of the positioning memberbody 82 to push the looped ends 158 and 160 tightly down onto therecessed surface 194 with the lower stock portion 146 fitting in thebase member opening 190, as can be seen in FIGS. 16 and 17.

With the clamping plate 202 driven by the solenoid 206 into clampingengagement with the base member 186, and particularly the upper surface192 thereof, the length of the positioning member body 82 that has allthree stock portions 142-146 in overlying relation with each other willbe exposed or aligned in the window 204 and opening 190 for thestitching operation to begin. Referring to FIG. 18, the stitch head 174is then operated for reciprocating the needle 166 to generate either ofthe stitch patterns 154, 156 by appropriate programmed movement of theclamping fixture 184 below the needle head 174. The central opening 190provides the needle 166 clearance as it pierces through the lower stockportion 146 and allows for cooperation with bobbin thread fed into theopening 190 from below the base member 186. Once the stitching iscomplete, the solenoid 206 is again actuated to lift the plate 202 awayfrom the base 186, and the operator removes the completely stitchedpositioning member body 82 for attaching the buckle head 18 thereto.

FIGS. 19-24 are directed to another positioning member 212 having a body214 formed of multiple layers of folded belt webbing material 40. Thepositioning member 212 is preferably formed from the samedouble-thickness, half-width, initial stock 124 of folded webbing 83which is then folded as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23 at folding station 90.As can be seen, one difference between the positioning member 212 andpositioning member 38 is that the length of the cut stock piece ormember 216 between ends 218 and 220 is shorter than stock member 125.This is because while the positioning member 212 also is folded abouttwo lateral fold lines 222 and 224 at the respective looped anchor end227 and looped buckle end 229 of the positioning member 212 to formthree stock portions 226-230 thereof, the inner stock portion 226 isshorter than the corresponding inner stock portion 142 of positioningmember 38. On the other hand, the outer stock portions 228 and 230 aresubstantially the same length as the corresponding outer stock portions144 and 146 of positioning member 38.

Thus, the outer stock portion 228 extends the full distance between thefold lines 222 and 224, and the outer stock portion 230 is pulledthrough the anchor plate slot 76 and extends to the folding post 134 andjust short of the fold line 224 between the stock portions 226 and 228,as can be seen in FIG. 23. The shorter length of the stock piece 216thus leaves only a short inner stock portion 226. Nevertheless, thereare three stock portions 226-230 provided at the buckle head end 229 ofthe positioning member 214 similar to the positioning member 38, as bestseen in FIG. 20. As such at the positioning member end 229, there arethe same six layers 40 a-40 f of webbing material 40 as with thepositioning member 38 as shown in FIG. 6 to form trifold portion 231 ofthe positioning member 212. On the other hand, closer to the anchor end227, the positioning member body 214 lacks an inner stock portionextending between the outer stock portions 228 and 230, as shown in FIG.21. Thus, only belt webbing layers 40 a, 40 b and 40 e, 40 f are presentalong this length of the positioning member 212 to form a bifold portion232 thereof. Accordingly, the trifold portion 231 has the same sixlayers 40 a-40 f of belt webbing material 40 as the trifold positioningmember body 82, whereas, the bifold portion 232 only has four layers 40a, 40 b and 40 e, 40 f. As can be seen best in FIGS. 21, 23 and 24, thetrifold portion 231 only extends for a relatively short distance, X, incomparison to the overall length of the positioning member 212, andtherefore with respect to the length of the remaining bifold portion 232of the positioning member body 214.

By way of the example and not limitation, the distance X can be in therange of approximately 26 mm to approximately 35 mm, with an overalllength of the positioning member 212 being approximately 170 mm, leavinga length of approximately 135 mm for the bifold portion 232 of thepositioning member 212. Hereinafter, when the positioning member 212 isreferred to as a double thickness, bifold positioning member 212 it willbe understood that it includes the short trifold portion 231 thereof.Even with only the short trifold portion 231 at the buckle head end 229of the positioning member body 214, it has been found that thepositioning member 212 provides stiffness characteristics for supportingthe buckle 18 in a desirable manner akin to that of the positioningmember 38. In this regard, the tensile strength component of thestiffness of the positioning member 212 is only slightly reduced overthe double thickness trifold positioning member 38, as can be seen inthe test results listed in FIG. 27. Similarly, the flexibility or bendstrength resistance of the positioning member 212 is not too far removedfrom that of the positioning member 38, and in any event issignificantly lower by an order of magnitude than that for the steelstrap, as can be seen in the test results listed in FIGS. 29 and 30.

Referring to FIGS. 25 and 26, a tensile strength test rig or apparatus234 is depicted for testing the strength of the buckle supportassemblies 10 including positioning members 38 and 212 thereof uponapplication of a tensile load 236 thereto. The tensile loads 236 areapplied until failure of the positioning member 38, 212 with the tensileforce recorded. For accurate comparison purposes, six separate testswere run for both the positioning members 38 and 212, as well as theprior steel strap mounted buckle.

As can be seen, the test rig 234 has a lower mounting block 238 havingan oblique mounting surface 240 for the buckle apparatus 242. The buckleapparatus 242 includes a test plate 244 latched in the buckle 18 in theopening 56 thereof. The test plate 244 is fastened to the mounting block238 to be flush against the oblique mounting surface 240 so that thebuckle 18 extends obliquely upwardly therefrom, as best seen in FIG. 26.The plate 244 has a slot 246 to allow screw fasteners 248 to be threadedinto corresponding threaded apertures in the block 238 so that the plate244 is held tightly against the block mounting surface 240. The test rig234 includes a pulling mechanism 250 to which the illustratedpositioning member 38 is secured at the anchor end 158 thereof with thepulling mechanism 250 generally oriented above the block surface 240 sothat the positioning member 38 also extends at an oblique angle to thevertical.

For testing, the pulling mechanism 250 is powered to shift in adirection away from the mounting block 238 which, as illustrated, is anupward direction 252. Since the buckle apparatus 242 is rigidly held tothe mounting block 238, the positioning member 38 and specifically thewebbing material 40 thereof begins to stretch under the applied tensileload 236 which is carefully measured during the testing operation. Allload values are recorded until failure of the positioning member 38occurs. Generally, it is desirable for the positioning members 38 and212 to withstand loads of at least 17.79 KN to meet industry standards(PF 8099-B, Section 5.2). As can be seen in FIG. 27, the positioningmembers 38 and 212 herein have tensile strength measurements that arewell in excess of this minimum. In fact, the test results show that thepositioning members 38 and 212 are comparable in tensile strength to theprior steel strap positioning members. More specifically, the steelstrap provided tensile strength on average of approximately 24.285 KNacross all six tests run pursuant to standards set forth in PF8099-A,Section III.B, and the double thickness, trifold positioning member 38with the continuous stitch pattern 154 provided a tensile strengthaverage of 22.575 KN across all six tensile tests therefor. Thisdifference amounts to less than 2 KN with the average tensile strengthstill being significantly greater than the 17.79 KN minimum standard,i.e., by well over 4 KN. Similarly, the average tensile strength of22.002 KN for the double thickness, trifold positioning member with thegrouped stitch pattern 156 was only a little more than 2 KN indifference versus the steel strap tensile strength test average, andstill is well over 4 KN more than the tensile strength minimum standard.Even with the double thickness, bifold positioning member 212 with thecontinuous stitch pattern 154, the average tensile strength of 20.241 KNwas a little more than 2 KN lower than tensile strength of thepositioning member 38 utilizing the stitch pattern 154, and over 2 KNmore than the minimum tensile strength standard. Accordingly, it can beseen from a tensile strength standpoint, the stiffness provided by thepositioning members 38 and 212 is comparable to that provided by theprior steel strap mounted buckles, and is also greater than the minimumstandard of 17.79 KN.

Referring next to the flexibility or bend resistance testing, the testrig or apparatus 254 utilized for this purpose is shown in FIG. 28. Thetest rig 254 is rigidly secured to the anchor plate 20. As can be seenthe test rig 254 has a wall 256 from which a lower side extension 258projects. The extension 258 projects at right angles to the wall 256 andreceives an anchor bolt 260 which fits through the anchor plate opening78 and can be tightened down to rigidly secure the anchor plate 20relative to the extension 258. Between the secured anchor plate 20 andthe wall 256, the rig 254 includes an adjustment plate 262 that extendsupwardly from the extension member 258 along the buckle support assembly10. The adjustment plate 262 allows a rigid bar 264 to be fixed atdifferent positions therealong.

With the buckle support assembly 10 set up in the test rig 254 asdescribed above, a transverse bend force as in direction 266 is appliedto the buckle head 18 generally toward the wall 256 via a gage forcedevice (not shown). The bar 264 can be placed at two different positionsalong the adjustment plate 262 so that the upper end 268 of the bar 264is spaced at either 50 mm or 100 mm from the center of the anchor plateopening 78. At both positions of the bend bar 264, the force needed tomove the buckle head 18 to three different distances, i.e. 10 mm, 20 mmand 30 mm, from a vertical position were measured, and recorded as shownin FIGS. 29 and 30, and illustrated in FIG. 28 in a not to scale,exaggerated form. These bend tests were run with both of the presentpositioning members 38 and 212, as well as with the prior steel straptype positioning member. For accuracy of comparison purposes, each ofthese tests were run six times in the same set up. Averages of the bendforce were then taken and plotted as shown in FIG. 32 to betterillustrate the differences.

As can be seen, the bend force differences between the steel strap andthe positioning members 38 and 212 are relatively dramatic with therebeing an order of magnitude difference with the steel strap presenting amuch more rigid mounting of the buckle head 18 over that provided by thepositioning members 38 and 212. And while the differences between thedouble-thickness, trifold positioning member 38 and double-thickness,bifold positioning member 212 are not as great, it can be seen thedouble-thickness, trifold positioning member 38 while providing forflexible movement of the support assembly 10 provides more resistance tobending than the double-thickness, bifold positioning member 212 whichis more desirable from an ease of buckling standpoint. In any event, itis apparent that each of the positioning members 38 and 212 provide abuckle support assembly 10 that has an optimized stiffness in terms ofboth providing a sufficiently rigid mounting of the buckle 18 while atthe same time allowing the buckle 18 to move upon application of arelatively low transverse bend force to the support assembly 10. In thismanner, buckling operations are still relatively easily performed withthe buckle 18 supported by the positioning members 38 and 212 while alsoallowing for inadvertent passenger contact with the support assembly 10to resiliently bend the positioning members 38 or 212 so that a hard andpossibly painful contact with the support assembly 10 is avoided.

Referring next to FIGS. 33-38, a dual buckle support assembly 269 havinga single support or positioning member 270 and a single anchor member272 provided for supporting a pair of buckles 274 and 276 is shown. Likethe positioning member 212, the positioning member 270 has a body 278formed of multiple layers of folded belt webbing material 40. In thisregard, the positioning member 270 is preferably formed from the samedouble-thickness, half-width, initial stock 124 of folded webbing 83which is then folded as shown in FIGS. 39 and 40. Whereas the folding inFIG. 40 is shown as occurring directly at the buckles 274 and 276, itwill be appreciated that such folding can occur at a fixture similar tothe fixture 90 of FIGS. 14, 15 and 22, 23 with the addition of an extrafolding post 134 spaced laterally from the single folding post 134 shownin these figures. Whether stitching occurs with the buckles alreadymounted to the positioning member 270 or prior to buckle mountingdepends on the type of buckle employed.

Typically, the length of the cut stock piece or member 280 between ends282 and 284 will be longer than the stock members 125 and 216 used forsupporting single buckles 18. One difference over the positioningmembers 38 and 212 is that the stock member 280 is not folded to have atri-fold configuration adjacent the buckle heads 274 and 276. Instead,the stock member 280 is laced through the slot 286 of the anchor platemember 272 and folded at approximately the midpoint between the ends 282and 284 thereof. Accordingly, this generates a lateral fold line 288 inthe positioning member 270 at the looped anchor end 290 thereof.Thereafter, the stock member ends 282 and 284 are folded about thefolding posts 134 to generate lateral fold lines 292 and 294 at loopedbuckle ends 296 and 298, respectively. As shown in FIG. 37, the loopedbuckle ends 296 and 298 can fit about respective mounting posts 300 and302 associated with the buckles 274 and 276. Alternatively, the stockmember ends 296 and 298 are laced through the frame of the buckles 274and 276 prior to stitching, as indicated by FIG. 40. Such folding andsubsequent stitching as will be described in more detail hereinaftergenerates stock portions 304-310 of the positioning member 270 with theinner stock portions 308 and 310 approximately the same length as eachother and both much shorter than associated, outer stock portions 304and 306, as can be seen in FIG. 37.

The stock portions 304-310 are stitched together so that each buckle 274and 276 includes upper and lower locations where bifold portions of thepositioning member 270 provide support thereto in a manner similar tothe previously described positioning members 38 and 212 for buckles 18.In other words, the positioning member 270 has a controlled stiffnessthat is highly desirable for supporting the buckles 274 in an elevatedposition relative to vehicle seats, such as shown in FIG. 33. In thisregard, the stiffness provided by the bi-fold positioning member 270 hasan optimized combination of tensile strength and resiliency includingbend strength or bend resistance as compared to prior steel strapmounted buckles.

Referring more specifically to FIGS. 35-37, it can be seen that thelower bi-fold portion 312 consists of lower sections 314 and 316 of therespective stock portions 304 and 306 that are stitched togetheradjacent the anchor plate member 272. This lower bifold portion 312 iscommon to buckles 274 and 276 so as to provide support to both. Upperbifold portion 318 consists of an upper section 320 of the stock portion304 that is stitched to the shorter stock portion 308 adjacent to thebuckle 274 to provide support therefor. Accordingly, between the lowerand upper bifold portions 312 and 318, only a single layer of the stockmember 280 is present, albeit consisting of two layers of belt webbingmaterial 40 as has been previously described. Similarly, upper bifoldportion 322 consists of an upper section 324 of the stock portion 306stitched to the shorter stock portion 310 adjacent the buckle 276.Between the lower bifold portion 312 and the upper bifold portion 322,there is only a single layer of the stock member 280.

Thus, the positioning member 270 is provided with more flexibility at asplit, intermediate portion 326 having a V-shaped configuration leadingto the upper bifold portions 318 and 322. The increased flexibilityprovided at the V-shaped intermediate portion 326 allows the buckles 274to be re-oriented either from the stacked configuration shown in FIG. 35to the offset configuration shown in FIGS. 36 and 38 depending on thespecific application in the vehicle in which they are mounted. Referringto FIG. 33, the buckles 274 and 276 are shown in the stackedconfiguration extending between adjacent seats, such as outer seat 328and center seat 330 in a rear row of seats. As can be seen, thepositioning member 270 is effective to support the buckles 274 and 276in a elevated position relative to the seat cushions 332. In thisarrangement, the upper bi-fold portions 318 and 322 project out from theseat and support the buckles 274 and 276 above the cushion 332. Ifdifferently sized occupants are sitting on the adjacent seats 328 and330, the flexible, intermediate portion 326 of the positioning member270 allows the buckles 274 and 276 to be oriented at different positionsfrom each other for providing the best orientation for receiving therespective tongue plates 334 therein. In addition, the positioningmember 270 can be utilized at different locations in the vehicle such asbetween the front bucket seats 336 and 338 to present the buckles 274and 276 at the inboard side of these seats in an elevated position forease of tongue latching operations therewith. The flexible, intermediateportion 326 is also useful during manufacture of the buckle supportassembly including the positioning member 270, as will be describedhereinafter.

The present positioning member 270 that mounts two buckles 274 and 276is advantageous in that it only requires a single anchor plate member272 for anchoring the two buckles 274 and 276 to the vehicle. The anchorplate member 272 has a ferrul 340 that is fit in fastener opening 342through which an anchor bolt secures the dual buckle support assembly269 to a vehicle body. In this regard, single anchor members have beenemployed for two buckles; however, typically they have a U-shapedbracket-type of configuration with the base of the bracket fastened tothe vehicle body and the legs being connected with respective supportmembers for the buckles. Preferably, the anchor member 272 has asubstantially flat anchor body 273 that is more robust than thecorresponding body of anchor member 20, for instance. To this end,anchor member body 273 can have a thickness of approximately 4 mm, whilethe plate body of anchor member 20 has a thickness of approximately 3.2mm. Such an increased thickness, anchor plate member 272 still providesspace advantages over a U-type bracket anchor. The anchor plate member272 also provides advantages over utilizing two thinner anchor platemembers similar to anchor member 20 in terms of avoiding the increasedcost of multiple anchor members and the associated ferruls as well asthe need to have a second assembly operation with respect to the annularferrul inserted in the fastener opening in the second anchor plate.

For stitching the lower and upper bifold portions 312, 318 and 322, thefolded stock member 280 including the anchor member 272 is removed fromits folding fixture and taken to a sewing station 344. The sewingstation 344 is similar to sewing station 92 in that it includes aclamping fixture 346 similar to clamping fixture 184. However, thefixture 346 is configured to receive the substantially Y-shapeconfiguration of the folded stock member 280 as can be readily achievedby the provision of the split, intermediate flexible portion 326thereof. To this end, base member 348 is provided with a Y-shapedthrough opening 350 configured to receive the Y-shaped folded stockmember 280 therein. As previously mentioned, the folded stock member 280can include the buckles 274 and 276 as illustrated or the buckles aremounted to the looped ends 296 and 298 after the folded stock member 280is stitched. At the three ends of the Y-shaped through opening 350,there are recesses 352, 354 and 356 so that the anchor plate 272 andeither the buckles 274 and 276 or the looped ends 296 and 298 can besupported therein. Thereafter, an appropriately configured clamp member(not shown) similar to clamp member 184 is shifted down onto the basemember 348 for holding the folded stock member 280 for the sewingoperation via the stitching mechanism including the robust needle 166and programmable stitch head 174, as previously has been described. FIG.42 shows the lower bi-fold portion 312 being sewn, FIG. 43 shows theupper bi-fold portion 382 being sewn, and FIG. 44 shows the upperbi-fold portion 318 being sewn. As illustrated, the stitch pattern 154is utilized for each of the bi-fold portions 312, 318 and 322. Stitchpattern 156 of FIG. 11 could alternatively be employed for each of thespaced, bifold portions 312, 318 and 322.

While there have been illustrated and described particular embodimentsof the present invention, it will be appreciated that numerous changesand modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and it isintended in the appended claims to cover all those changes andmodifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

1. A buckle component support assembly comprising: a buckle componentfor cooperating with another buckle component to be latched together; anelongate positioning member for the buckle component to substantiallysupport the buckle component in a predetermined elevated position forlatching; and a predetermined flexible material of the positioningmember that is arranged and configured to have a predetermined stiffnessfor substantially maintaining the buckle component in the predeterminedelevated position during latching and allowing for a predeterminedamount of resilient shifting by application of a relatively low bendingforce to the positioning member.
 2. The buckle component supportassembly of claim 1 wherein the predetermined flexible material is thesole buckle component supporting material of the positioning member. 3.The buckle component support assembly of claim 1 wherein thepredetermined flexible material comprises belt webbing material of thepositioning member having a plurality of fold portions thereof that arearranged and attached so that the positioning member is self-supportingand allows for the resilient shifting of the buckle component.
 4. Thebuckle component support assembly of claim 1 wherein the predeterminedflexible material includes a length of belt webbing material foldedalong at least one longitudinal fold line to form an initialdouble-thickness, half-width belt webbing length, and a plurality offold portions of the half-width belt webbing length that are attachedtogether.
 5. The buckle component support assembly of claim 4 whereinthe plurality of fold portions include at least two fold portions formedby folding the initial half-width belt webbing length along a transversefold line to allow the two fold portions to be attached so that thepositioning member has a thickness four times that of the belt webbingmaterial.
 6. The buckle component support assembly of claim 4 whereinthe plurality of fold portions include at least three fold portionsformed by folding the initial belt webbing length over a pair oftransverse fold lines to allow the three fold portions to be attached sothat the positioning member has a thickness six times that of the beltwebbing material.
 7. The buckle component support assembly of claim 1wherein the predetermined flexible material comprises belt webbingmaterial of a predetermined thickness that is folded and attached tohave a thickness at least three times the predetermined thickness, and apredetermined sew pattern that minimizes stitches needed to sew thefolded belt webbing material together for forming the positioningmember.
 8. The buckle component support assembly of claim 7 wherein thepredetermined sew pattern comprises a combination box and butterfly sewpattern extending along a majority of the length of the positioningmember.
 9. The buckle component support assembly of claim 7 wherein thepredetermined sew pattern comprises a plurality of butterfly sew patterngroups spaced along the length of the positioning member.
 10. The bucklecomponent support assembly of claim 1 wherein the positioning membermaterial has a predetermined tensile strength of at least approximately17.79 KN.
 11. The buckle component support assembly of claim 7 whereinthe folded and sewn belt webbing material has a predetermined tensilestrength of at least approximately 19.00 KN.
 12. The buckle componentsupport assembly of claim 1 wherein the predetermined stiffness providesfor the low bend force to be in the range of approximately 1 N to lessthan approximately 10 N to resiliently shift the positioning member fromthe predetermined elevated position between approximately 10 mm toapproximately 30 mm.
 13. The buckle component support assembly of claim1 wherein the predetermined stiffness provides for the low bending forceto progressively increase in a predetermined manner as the bucklecomponent shifts further away from the predetermined elevated position.14. The buckle component support assembly of claim 1 wherein thepositioning member comprises belt webbing material having apredetermined width and thickness sized to provide the predeterminedstiffness to the positioning member.
 15. The buckle component supportassembly of claim 14 wherein the predetermined width is betweenapproximately 22.0 mm to approximately 28.0 mm, and the predeterminedthickness is between approximately 9.0 mm to approximately 14.0 mm. 16.The buckle component support assembly of claim 1 wherein the bucklecomponent comprises a pair of buckles supported at respective elevatedpositions at upper end portions of the positioning member, and a singleanchor member secured to a vehicle with the positioning member extendingbetween the anchor member and each of the elevated buckles.
 17. Afolding and sewing system for forming the positioning member of claim 1.18. The folding and sewing system of claim 17 including a pair offolding fixtures for folding the flexible material of the positioningmember and a clamping fixture for holding the folded material duringsewing thereof.
 19. A method for forming the positioning member ofclaim
 1. 20. The method of claim 19 including folding the flexiblematerial along at least one longitudinal fold line and sewing the foldedmaterial together for forming a double-thickness, half-width stock offolded material, transversely folding the stock of folded material overa first transverse fold line, and sewing the folded-over stock of foldedmaterial together to form the positioning member with a shortened lengthand increased thickness over that of the stock of folded material. 21.The method of claim 20 including transversely folding the stock offolded material over a second transverse fold line longitudinally spacedfrom the first transverse fold line to extend over and along thetransversely folded material and to be sewn thereto to form thepositioning member.
 22. The method of claim 20 wherein the sewing of thefolded-over stock of folded material includes sewing at least acriss-cross pattern through the folded-over stock of folded material.23. The method of claim 22 wherein the sewing of at least thecriss-cross pattern includes sewing both the criss-cross pattern and abox pattern to extend substantially continuously along a majority of thelength of the positioning member.
 24. A method for forming an elongatepositioning member for supporting a buckle component for latching, themethod comprising: folding a flexible material along at least onelongitudinal fold line; sewing the folded material together for forminga double-thickness, half-width stock of folded material; transverselyfolding the stock of folded material over a first transverse fold line;and sewing the folded-over stock of folded material together to form thepositioning member with a shortened length and increased thickness overthat of the stock of folded material.
 25. The method of claim 24including transversely folding the stock of folded material over asecond transverse fold line longitudinally spaced from the firsttransverse fold line to extend over and along the transversely foldedmaterial and to be sewn thereto to form the positioning member.
 26. Themethod of claim 24 wherein the sewing of the folded-over stock of foldedmaterial includes sewing at least a criss-cross pattern through thefolded-over stock of folded material.
 27. The method of claim 26 whereinthe sewing of at least the criss-cross pattern includes sewing both thecriss-cross pattern and a box pattern to extend substantiallycontinuously along a majority of the length of the positioning member.28. A folding and sewing system for forming a positioning member ofelongate flexible material for a buckle component, the folding andsewing system comprising: a first folding fixture adapted to fold theelongate flexible material about a longitudinal fold line to form foldedstock material; a second folding fixture adapted to fold the foldedstock material about at least one transverse fold line; and a clampingfixture for securely holding the longitudinally and transversely foldedmaterial for sewing thereof to form the positioning member.
 29. A dualbuckle component support assembly comprising: a pair of bucklecomponents for cooperating with corresponding other buckle components tobe latched together; a single elongate positioning for the bucklecomponents to substantially support the buckle components in respectivepredetermined elevated positions for latching; and a predeterminedflexible material of the positioning member that is arranged andconfigured to have a predetermined stiffness for substantiallymaintaining the buckle components in the predetermined elevatedpositions during latching and allowing for resilient shifting thereof.30. The buckle component support assembly of claim 29 wherein thepredetermined flexible material is the sole buckle component supportingmaterial of the positioning member.
 31. The buckle component supportassembly of claim 29 wherein the predetermined flexible materialcomprises belt webbing material of the positioning member having aplurality of fold portions thereof that are arranged and attached sothat the positioning member is self-supporting and allows for theresilient shifting of the buckle components.
 32. The dual bucklecomponent support assembly of claim 29 including a single anchor memberfor being secured to a vehicle with the positioning member extendingbetween the anchor member and each of the elevated buckle components.33. The dual buckle component support assembly of claim 29 wherein theflexible material is belt webbing that is folded to have thickerportions and thinner portions with the thinner portions providingflexibility to allow for the predetermined elevated positions of thebuckle components to be reoriented to differentiated predeterminedelevated positions.